Au Revoir Carla, Bienvenue Valerie

Updated May 15, 2012 5:09 p.m. ET

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Longtime political reporter Valérie Trierweiler was thrust into the limelight on Tuesday when her Socialist companion François Hollande formally took office as president of France.
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She said she struggled to decide where she belonged. In December, she was accompanying Mr. Hollande to Berlin for a rally of Germany's Social Democrat Party, and said her instinct was to follow the journalist crowd before Mr. Hollande called her to his table. Here, Ms. Trierweiler took part in a TV show.
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Ms. Trierweiler and Mr. Hollande are the first unmarried couple to represent France. In this photo, Ms. Trierweiler left after a ceremony for victims of the Toulouse school shooting in March.
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Ms. Trierweiler claims to have influence on Mr. Hollande, saying she recommended he go on a diet when he launched his presidential bid and helped prepare some of his electoral speeches.
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Ms. Trierweiler and Mr. Hollande left city hall after visiting a village in Tulle, southwestern France, during the campaign.
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Ms. Trierweiler and Mr. Hollande celebrated the Socialist's victory over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy on May 6 at the Place de la Bastille.
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